I just posted a review of an outstanding new novel: The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer:
Back in the early 60s, I remember reading a variety of spy novels. On the one hand, there were the exuberant and exotic romps by Ian Fleming; on the other, gritty and cynical pieces like Len Deighton’s Horse Under Water and The Ipcress File. Perhaps my favourites were the early works of John Le Carré, such as The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and The Looking Glass War. From the mid-70s onward I stopped reading the genre, however: Le Carré seemed to be more interested in studying varieties of deep personal failure, while writers like Ludlum and Forsyth focussed on action at the expense of realism. And don’t get me started on the techno-thrillers.
So “The Tourist” is the first real spy novel that I’ve read in years. And it’s amazing. I read it in a couple of sittings, and I was completely mesmerized. It’s a complex story, with many actors collaborating and deceiving each other, but Steinhauer keeps everything crystal clear. I never felt the need to backtrack to check something, nor that the author had tried to slip anything past me. The story is seamlessly interwoven with real contemporary geopolitical events; if you’re looking for a primer on the state of affairs in Sudan, this may fill the gap. The complex motivations of the key characters are utterly convincing, and the outcome is sadly satisfying, in the way that Le Carré used to do so well.
I have to say that this feels like the best spy novel I’ve ever read. I’m going to try to get hold of some of the early works of Len Deighton (most of which are, inexplicably, out of print), just so I can compare and contrast. “Best ever” or not, “The Tourist” is outstanding. File it under “Fiction”, rather than pigeon-holing it.